Supporting mechanism



. April 11, 1939. M. coPPocK SUPPORTING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 19, 1938 Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNlTED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE SUPPORTING MECHANISM Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application January 19, 1938, Serial No. 185,775

6 Claims.

This invention relates to supporting mechanism for hinged closures and more particularly to a mechanism for supporting ail-automobile hood or trunk lid.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a novel supporting mechanism for hinged closures of the type which may be auto-- matically locked and unlocked, thus dispensing with all manual operations except that of merely raising and lowering the closure.

' Another object is to provide a mechanism of the above character which shall be positively actingat all times, capable of economical manufacture and readily adaptable to closures of various shapes and sizes.

Other objects and novel features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating one form of the invention. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is utilizedfor purposes of illustration only and is not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a supporting mechanism constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the supporting mechanism in Fig. 1 and illustrating the same in folded position, the dotted-line portions of this figure showing the mechanism as it approaches folded position, and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the supporting mechanism when folded,

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the supporting means of the present invention is illustrated therein as including a pair of arms 4 and 5 pivotally connected together as by means of a pin 6. Thefree end of arm 4 is pivoted on a pin 1 carried by a bracket 8 secured in any suitable manner to a vehicle trunk lid or hood,

' I 5 and a pin |3 carried by the bracket I0.

a portion of which is indicated at 9. The free end of arm 5 is connected to a bracket l0, carried by a stationary portion ll of the vehicle, as by means of a pin and slot connection, the latter being formed by a slot l2 provided in the arm It will 'be understood that the trunk lid or hood is hingedly connected with the stationary portion H in a well known manner. A tension spring l4, having its opposite ends associated with the pin l3 and a stud I5 carried by the arm 5 adjacent its outer extremity, normally tends to move the arm 5 to such a position that the lower end of the slot I2 is in engagement with pin I3. As shown in full lines in Fig. 1, however, the weight of the trunk lid 9 is such that the upper end of slot [2 engages the pin I3 and the spring I4 is thus in its extended position.

In order to prevent pivotal movement of the arm 5 in one direction, when the arms 4 and 5 are in extended supporting position, a dog H5 is pivoted to the bracket l as by means of pin H, the said dog being provided with forward and rear lobes l8 and IQ for a purpose which will appear more fully hereinafter. This dog is capable of movement in a predetermined arc during operation of the supporting mechanism, and, as shown, a flange 20 is provided which limits the arc of movement of the dog in opposite directions. This will be clear when it is considered that, in Fig. 1, one extreme movement of the dog is illustrated wherein the portion 2| thereof engages the flange 20, while, in Fig. 2, the dog is moved to the other extremity of its movement wherein portion 22 engages flange 20. Movement of the dog I6 in its two extreme positions of arcuate movement is accomplished by providing a rounded end 23 upon the lower extremity of arm 5, together with a shoulder 23a, it being understood that such end and shoulder cooperate with the lobes l8 and IQ of the dog IE to move the latter in a manner which will appear more fully hereinafter.

In order to yieldably maintain the dog in its two extreme positions of movement, a flat leaf spring 24 is secured to the bracket III as by means of an anchor 25, the spring 24 extending from the anchor and having its outer portion formed in such a manner as to either engage a notch 26 formed in the dog or engage the surface 2| thereof, as will be seen from Figs. 1 and 2. As will be perceived from Fig. 1, the anchor 25 moreover serves to prevent pivotal movement of the arm in a counterclockwise direction about the pin l3.

Referring to the folded position of the supporting mechanism as illustrated in Fig. 2, it will be understood that the dog I6 is yieldably maintained in a non-supporting position by the spring 24 bearing against the portion 2| of the dog. As the trunk lid or hood having the end of the arm 4 pivotallyconnected thereto is raised, the mechanism takes the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and, from this figure, it will be perceived that the extremity 23 of the arm 5 approaches and contacts the lobe I8 of the dog. Upon continued upward movement of the lid, the

extremity 23, in contact with the lobe I8, will move the dog IS a slight amount in a clockwise direction about pivot H, such extent of movement, however, being insufficient to bring notch 26 into registry with the end of spring 24. When the extremity 23 clears the end of lobe 18, the spring 24 will resiliently maintain the dog in contact with the shoulder 23a. As the arms 4 and 5 take the load of the supported member, arm 5 will slide downwardly, due to the pin and slot connection l2 and I 3 and will positively move the dog in a clockwise direction about pivot I'I until the upper end of the slot l2 contacts the pin l3. At this point, the parts are so proportioned that the end of spring 24 will drop into notch 26 and, at the same time, portion 2| of the dog will be in contact with the stop flange 20. Simultaneously with the above operations, extremity 23 will contact the spring anchor 25, as shown in Fig. 1, and the arm 5 will thus be locked in an extended supporting position.

If it be desired to lower the lid or hood member 9, it is only necessary tomove the supported member upwardly a sufiicient distance to enable extremity 23 to clear lobe it. Under these conditions, pivots 6 and 1 will respectively take the positions 6a and 1a indicated on Fig. 1. With the parts in such position, continued lowering of the lid'will cause the pivotal connection 6 between the arms 4 and 5 to move in the direction of the arrow at and the arm 5 will move in a clockwise direction about the pivot pin 13. During this last named movement, the spring E i moves the arm 5 so that the lower end of slot l2 contacts the pin 13. As will be readily perceived from Fig. 1, the extremity 23 of the arm 5 engages the lobe !9 of the dog and positively moves the latter to the position shown in Fig. 2 where the portion 22 abuts the stop flange 2!]. The spring 24 contacting the edge of the dog yieldably maintains the latter in this position. Continued downward movement of the lid serves to move the arms 4 and 5 into a folded position, as shown in Fig. 3 and in full lines in Fig. 2.

It will be observed from Fig. 1 that the construction of the parts, including the location of the spring anchor 25, is such that the pivotal connection 6 is but slightly displaced from the center line drawn between the two pivots l and I3, This arrangement insures that the arms 4 and 5 will be substantially in straight compression, thus relieving the parts of bending moments when the supporting mechanism is in supporting position.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described herein with considerable particularity, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may [be embodied in various forms as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Reference will, therefore, be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the character described, comprising a supporting arm, a bracket, means for pivotally and slidably mounting one end of said arm on the bracket, a dog pivotally mounted on the bracket for limited pivotal movement in opposite directions, means on the end of said arm for moving the dog to the limit of its movement in one direction during slidable movement of the arm, said dog when so moved cooperating with the end of said arm for preventing pivotal movement of the latter in one direction, a leaf spring cooperating with said dog for resiliently maintaining the latter in said moved position, and an anchor for said spring serving to prevent pivotal movement of the arm in the opposite direction.

2. In a device of the character described, comprising a supporting arm, a bracket, means for pivotally and slidably mounting one end of said arm on the bracket, a dog pivotally mounted on the bracket for limited pivotal movement in opposite directions, means on the end of said arm for moving the dog to the limit of its movement in one direction during slidable movement of the arm, said dog when so moved cooperating with the end of said arm in one direction for preventing pivotal movement of the latter in one direction, means cooperating with said arm for preventing pivotal movement of the latter in the opposite'direction, a leaf spring anchored to said bracket and contacting said dog for holding the latter in said moved position during sliding movement of the arm in the opposite direction, and resilient means normally tending to move the arm in said opposite direction.

3. In a device of the character described, comprising a pair of pivotally connected arms adapted to support a hinged lid, a bracket, means including a pin and slot connection for pivotally and slidably connecting the free end of one arm to said bracket, resilient means interconnecting said one arm and pin and normally tending to maintain a predetermined relation between said one arm and pin, means for preventing pivotal movement of said one arm in one direction including a dog pivoted on the bracket and having a portion cooperating with the free end of said one arm, said dog being moved to a predetermined position by said one arm during slidable movement thereof in one direction, means cooperating with said arm for preventing pivotal movement of the latter in the opposite direction, and a leaf spring in constant contact with said dog for resiliently maintaining the latter in said predetermined position.

4. In a device of the character described, comprising a pair of pivotally connected arms adapted to support a movable member with relation to a stationary member, one of said arms being pivotally connected to one member and the other of said arms being provided with a slot adjacent one end, a bracket secured to the other of said members, a pin carried by the bracket and extending through said slot, said pin and slot thereby enabling pivotal and slidable movement of said other arm with respect to the bracket, and means for preventing pivotal movement between said arms when the latter are extended to supporting position comprising a dog pivoted to said bracket and cooperating with said end of the other arm for movement thereby to a predetermined latching position during slidable movement of said other arm in one direction, an abutment on the bracket cooperating with said end of said other arm when the latter is slidably moved in said one direction, and a leaf spring cooperating with said dog for resiliently maintaining the dog in said latching position.

5. In an automatically operable supporting mechanism of the type having a pair of pivotally connected arms, one of the arms being pivoted to one relatively movable member while the free end of the other arm is slidably and pivotally connected with another relatively movable member, a locking dog pivoted to one of said members, means for limiting the range of pivotal movement of said dog'in opposite directions, the free end of said other arm contacting said dog and moving the latter to the limit of its pivotal movement in one direction during slidable movement of said other arm in one direction, whereby the arms are supported in extended position, and a leaf spring anchored to one of said members and cooperating with said dog for resiliently maintaining the latter in said supporting position.

6. In a device of the character described, comprising a pair of pivotally connected arms adapted to support a movable member with relation to a stationary member, one of said arms being pivotally connected to one member and the other of said arms being provided with a slot adjacent one end, a bracket secured to the other of said members, a pin carried by the bracket and extending through said slot, said pin and slot thereby enabling pivotal and slidable movement of said other arm with respect to the bracket, resilient means connecting said pin and said other arm and tending to maintain said other arm in such position that one end of said slot engages the pin, and means for preventing pivotal movement between said arms in one direction when the latter are extended to supporting position comprising a dog pivoted to said bracket and cooperating with said end of the other arm for movement thereby to a predetermined latching position during slidable movement of said other arm in a direction to move the opposite end of said slot against said pin, means cooperating with said other arm for preventing pivotal movement between said arms in the opposite direction when said dog is moved to latching position, and a leaf spring cooperating with said dog for resiliently maintaining the latter in said latching position.

IRA M. COPPOCK. 

